


Less than $10 (minus costs to SHIELD)

by FlatlandDan



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-19
Updated: 2013-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-05 04:52:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1089826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlatlandDan/pseuds/FlatlandDan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't so much that he minded being left off the Secret Santa list.  He could kind of understand why, what with everyone under level seven thinking he was dead.  That did kind of limit the pool of people.  Still, Phil reasoned with himself, if he didn't let his death get in the way of living then there was no reason why it should get in the way of him exchanging random gifts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Less than $10 (minus costs to SHIELD)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lanyon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanyon/gifts).



> I should be working on Yuletide but my buddy, lanyon, had some Secret Santa woes and I couldn't let that stay the way it was.
> 
> Just a little something to make up for real being being dicks <3

It wasn’t so much that he minded being left off the Secret Santa list.  He could kind of understand why, what with everyone under level seven thinking he was dead.  That did kind of limit the pool of people.  Still, Phil reasoned with himself, if he didn’t let his death get in the way of living then there was no reason why it should get in the way of him exchanging random gifts.  

Patrick McKenna has been one of the favourite aliases he and Clint Barton had ever invented.  An actual fake SHIELD agent to try and fence information.  Everything bonafide, except the fact that when the poor, hapless criminal had turned up to collect he had found himself on the wrong end of a bland smile and an arrow.  

It was pretty simple now for Phil to sit in his flying office and casually “reactivate” Agent McKenna and sign him up for the gift exchange.  The Bus was too small to do a secret santa so in the spirit of the season and of reminding his team that they belonged to something much bigger, he had suggested they all so it.  And then, of course, totally forgotten he had.

“I do hope Agent Alistair likes my Secret Santa gift.  I picked it up for her in Berlin at the market..” Phil had stopped midway past the lab space and turned to stare at Simmons.  “Sir?” She queried, looking both terrified and confused at the same time.

“When is the exchange again? I should arrange to get out gifts dropped to a good pickup spot?” He tried to keep his voice calm, casual, and god bless Jemma for being so eager to please because when she replied tomorrow he could smile, nod, walk away and all was well in the world.  Except that Phil Coulson, who had practically insisted that his team participate in this, who has resurrected a SHIELD alias for this, had completely forgotten to check the email address for this.

The email account held three emails: A reminder of the party/exchange that was, indeed, tomorrow. A reminder that the gifts shouldn’t cost more than $10, MAX.  And one name.  

Clint Barton.

Phil Coulson gently let his head hit the table and left it there until he felt a set of eyes burning a hole into the top of his head.

“I got Barton in the Secret Santa and I completely forgot.” He looks up and Melinda is  smirking at him, but it’s at least an amused smirk so he thinks that maybe she’ll help him.  “What can I do?”

The smirk turns positively evil as she pulls out a bright red bow and casually sticks it to his head.

“Ah. Well, I suppose that would cost less than $10.”

\- - -

Clint doesn’t talk much about what he got that year for his Secret Santa present.  All of SHIELD talks about how when the gifts got handed out he got a rather slim envelope that he scowled at for a full minute before opening.  And then all he had inside was a note.  It was a shame, really.  Barton had a tough year and deserved something nice.  Even some chocolates would have been ok. But Barton had smiled, tucked the card into his pocket and said it was fine. He was had a nice gift all wrapped up and waiting for him back at the Avengers tower.

He doesn’t talk much about what he got that year for his Secret Santa present, but everyone level seven or higher is pretty happy for for the both of them.  Despite the bill for plane fuel.


End file.
